Fingerprinting grant passes House

Upgrade will let DeSoto enter national database

DeSoto County law enforcement officials have moved one step closer to bringing their outdated fingerprinting system into the 21st century.

A $900,000 federal grant through the Community Oriented Policing grant program, or COPS, to upgrade the system and forensic software was included in a version of the 2008 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill.

The bill passed the House last Thursday, said representatives with the office of U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

The bill must still go through the Senate before it becomes final.

Kyle Steward, press secretary for Wicker, said Southaven police initiated the request to update the fingerprinting system, but law enforcement throughout the county will be able to use it.

"It will definitely give a boost to law enforcement throughout DeSoto County," Steward said from Wicker's Southaven office Monday.

Southaven Dep. Chief Steve Pirtle said he was pleased to learn the funding had cleared one hurdle.

Pirtle said the current fingerprinting system that his department and others use in the county is outdated. Fingerprints have to be sent for analysis to labs in Jackson and Memphis, slowing down the investigation process.

He said with the new system, law enforcement throughout the county will have access to the national fingerprinting database system.

"We will be able to tie into Memphis and Shelby County's system and they will be able to tie into our system," Pirtle said.

Pirtle said a portion of the $900,000 funding will also be used for the DeSoto SmartCop program, which allows local departments to upgrade their radio systems and other programs.

"This is great for our data sharing system on a local and national level," Pirtle said. "It will work better for all of us."